Cairn Dearthair
Cairn Dearthair is the site of the last battle of the eight legendary knights, who founded Cairdeas, and the goddess of chaos Tia'mat. Upon this site, the eight knights: Aquillonius, Owenidus, Erkinazan, Calaster, Markus, Conraddius, Nikarchos, and Cameridion met Tia'mat in one final battle for the fate of the world. The battle was hard fought but in the end the knights claimed victory and banished Tia'mat from the material plane to be imprisoned in the abyss. After this, they knights gave their lives to form the new world free from Tia'mats chaotic corruption, creating Cairdeas as we know it. The eight sentinel statues were built here, one in the likeness of each knight, where according to legend they stand watch to ensure Tia'mat never returns. It is a holy site for all the denizens of Cairdeas, and each of the knights is worshipped as gods, and these statues remain amongst the holiest sites in the world. The Last Battle In their last conflict in the war against Tia'mat known as the ''Deidread Cath, ''the eight knights met her upon the Mountains of the Bloorian. She was eventually cast down by the knights who then banished her to the abyss and preventing her from returning to the material plane in the year 3834 AD (Age of Dragons). This marked the end of the First Age, known as the Age of Dragons, and the beginning of the new age, year 1 AL, the Age of Lords. Upon the Moutains of Bloorian did the knights then give their lives to ensure she would never return, and many believed ascended to godhood. The kingdom which they had founded, the kingdom of Cairdeas then commissioned a great monument to be built to honour and forever remember their sacrifice. Eight statues of stone were erected on the summit of each mountain fashioned in the likeness of each knight, upon the order of the first king of Cairdeas, Mandric I. The Statues The statues themselves each rest on the summit of each of the eight mountains of Bloorian, overlooking the bay of Babel. Each is carved in the likeness of one of the knights. They each from the summit of the mountain, stand 553 metres in height. They are constructed of solid stone, in a block stacking style. Over the years, as each of the knights became worshipped as deities in their own right, and became patron deities of many in Cairdeas, the statues gradually had temples added to them. Now they not only serve as one of the memories of the grandeur of the early kingdom of Cairdeas, but also as holy sites important to all in Cairdeas seeking aid from the evils of the world. The image of the eight knights, so bonded in life, forever immortalized in stone, standing shoulder to shoulder eternally resolute in their bond gives hope and inspiration to many that they too can stand fast against life's horrors. They each have inscriptions written on them in old Cairdeanen as follows: Here lies Aquillonius the Mighty Here lies Owenidus the Kind Here lies Erkinazan the Wise Here lies Calaster the Wild Here lies Conraddius the Strong Here lies Markus the Pure Here lies Cameridion the Quick Here lies Nikarchos the Brave